I'm sure I'll be dying for some racing coverage after the New Year, but TEN 3 hour shows on last season seems a bit excessive! I probably won't be watching any of this until the Toyota Showdown at the end of the month. Glad they are having that in January so we have some actual live racing to watch before Daytona.

From Jayski:

"SPEED Sets January NASCAR Schedule: SPEED will open its 2009 NASCAR coverage with the first episode of NASCAR 39/10: Reviewing the 60th Season on Jan. 7. The series of 10 three-hour specials, loaded with race highlights and extensive pre- and post-race interviews, will premiere Wednesdays and Thursdays from noon to 3 p.m. ET and run for five weeks, leading into the network's extensive NASCAR programming schedule from Daytona Speedweeks in February. In addition, SPEED also will kick off its annual NASCAR Preseason Thunder coverage on Jan. 12 at 6 p.m. ET, with 17 original 30-minute shows and a one-hour special from Daytona Fan Fest on Jan. 17. The popular Trackside Live with Larry McReynolds, Jeff Hammond and Steve Byrnes will open the 2009 season with five consecutive shows from Daytona, airing Jan. 19-23 at 7 p.m. ET. Live NASCAR racing returns to the track with live coverage of qualifying for the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown Jan. 23 at 10 p.m. ET and live race coverage Jan. 24 at 10 p.m. ET. Mike Joy and Phil Parsons will be in the booth, with Dr. Dick Berggren and Jim Tretow reporting from the pits.(SPEEDtv PR)(12-24-2008)"

I agree with Cheryl that this amount of coverage is extensive. How, for example, are they going to fill all that airtime in January? Not with footage from pre-season testing; remember that it has been canceled.

SPEED should have scheduled NASCAR Confidential, Roush Racing: Driver X, Drivers 360, and NASCAR in Primetime instead. (Some of those shows would have had to be obtained from other networks, but still...)